Many of the famous new buildings that have gone up in Beijing recently have been given their own tags by the people. The National Center for the Performing Arts is known as the “Duck Egg.” The National Stadium is known as the “Bird’s Nest.” They’re both humble yet fitting names for these grand edifices.

and anyway Big Underpants is only one of several other names bestowed upon it by the bemused Chinese public: others include ‘Birdcage’ (Niao Long), ‘Wish to Fly’ (Yu Fei), ‘Ferocious Man’ (Meng Nan), ‘Slanting Stride’ (Xie Kua), and yes, even, ‘Kissing at High Altitudes’ (Gao Kong Dui Wen).